NATO Scrambles Fighter Jets Amid Major Long-Range Russian Strikes
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Fighter jets from NATO nations were scrambled after Russia launched long-range missile strikes on Ukraine overnight.
"In connection with the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory – including with the use of hypersonic missiles – aircraft of the Polish Air Force and allied aviation are operating in Polish airspace," the Polish military said on X on Thursday.
"In accordance with applicable procedures, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces has activated all available forces and assets. Duty fighter pairs have been scrambled, and air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness."
The Polish military said the actions were taken to "ensure the safety of the territory of the Republic of Poland and its citizens," particularly in areas close to the Ukraine border affected by military operations.
It came after Russia carried out an attack overnight on the Ukrainian city of Lviv, close to the Polish border, with Shahed drones and missiles, according to Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi.
He said that one person had been killed and two others injured in the strikes.
F-16 fighter jets flying over Warsaw, Poland, in 2023.
F-16 fighter jets flying over Warsaw, Poland, in 2023.
Czarek Sokolowski/AP
This is a developing story. More to follow.
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Exclusive-Putin's demand to Ukraine: give up Donbas, no NATO and no Western troops, sources say
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In the most detailed Russian-based reporting to date on Putin's offer at the summit, Reuters was able to outline the contours of what the Kremlin would like to see in a possible peace deal to end a war that has killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people. In essence, the Russian sources said, Putin has compromised on territorial demands he laid out in June 2024, which required Kyiv to cede the entirety of the four provinces Moscow claims as part of Russia: Dontesk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine - which make up the Donbas - plus Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south. Kyiv rejected those terms as tantamount to surrender. In his new proposal, the Russian president has stuck to his demand that Ukraine completely withdraw from the parts of the Donbas it still controls, according to the three sources. In return, though, Moscow would halt the current front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, they added. 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Ukraine's foreign ministry had no immediate comment on the proposals. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly dismissed the idea of withdrawing from internationally recognised Ukrainian land as part of a deal, and has said the industrial Donbas region serves as a fortress holding back Russian advances deeper into Ukraine. "If we're talking about simply withdrawing from the east, we cannot do that," he told reporters in comments released by Kyiv on Thursday. "It is a matter of our country's survival, involving the strongest defensive lines." Joining NATO, meanwhile, is a strategic objective enshrined in the country's constitution and one which Kyiv sees as its most reliable security guarantee. Zelenskiy said it was not up to Russia to decide on the alliance's membership. The White House and NATO didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the Russian proposals. 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The Hill
26 minutes ago
- The Hill
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